


Foul Play

by Dontlookatmelikethat



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Hurt Andrew Minyard, Hurt/Comfort, POV Andrew Minyard, POV Neil Josten, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:15:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25018384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dontlookatmelikethat/pseuds/Dontlookatmelikethat
Summary: In which Andrew gets hurt, Neil freezes, and Exy history is made.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 168





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction, I hope you like it!

Andrew stands bored in the goal, wondering how much time is left in the game. They had been playing the Breckinridge Jackals for what had felt like hours and were still down by a point. Andrew has only been in the goal for the second half of the game to control the score while the Foxes make up for lost points, but the match will not end. Cheers bring Andrew back to the game and he realizes that Aaron and Nicky were working hard to get the ball back to the other side of the court while he zoned out.

The backliners are overpowered when Nicky is shoved harshly into the wall and stays slumped there for seconds. Andrew blocks the shot that the striker had aimed at a low corner of the goal and slams it back up court to Neil. 

Content that his job is done for a moment, he spares a glance at Nicky just in time to see him signal for a time out. Aaron rushes over and helps him to the bench for Abby to take a look at him, glaring at any Jackal in his path. Nicky catches Andrew’s eye and gives him a shaky thumbs up before turning to Abby and taking off his helmet. 

Andrew forces himself to stare back at the field once the game starts back up and is surprised to find the other team’s striker still near him. Upon noticing that he has Andrew’s attention, the striker moves closer and grins widely at him.

“I heard that you like to bring knives onto the court,” he says with a grin. Andrew casts him a cool look and doesn’t dignify his taunt with an answer. The Jackal doesn’t seem to mind and continues, “I’ll let you in on a secret okay? Come here.” 

When Andrew makes no move to close the distance between them the striker huffs and moves closer to the expressionless goalie. “So do I.” 

In one quick movement the striker draws a knife and slips it under Andrew’s gear, burying it into his stomach. He then pockets the knife and slams into Andrew, causing the goal to light up red around them, not unlike the match against the Jackals the year before. The game freezes as the player is carded and sent off of the court, muttering something to his replacement as he passes. Within a moment an angry looking Neil is at Andrew’s side, with Kevin trailing closely behind.

“Wish I could have punched him on his way out,” Neil mutters bitterly. Andrew dazedly hears Kevin say something about the score of the game and how they need him on the court as Neil helps him up. 

Checking to see the timer, Andrew realizes that the Foxes are still down one point with just two minutes left. Without an additional goal after the penalty shot Andrew knows Neil will make, they would be forced into overtime, something Andrew silently admits he isn’t up for. He signals to the referee that he’s fine and Neil sets up to take a penalty shot, quickly bringing the score to a tie.

The players line up at the center of the court to begin, and the game is once again set into motion. The backliners try their hardest against the Jackals, but the striker sub manages his way past, swinging the ball hard at Andrew’s left. He blocks the goal and sends the ball hurtling to the other side of the court, ignoring the quick rush of pain that tries to overcome him after the sudden movement.

A long buzzer sounds and the bleachers erupt with cheers. Andrew glances up at the scoreboard, sees that the Foxes are up by one point, and realizes that Neil or Kevin had somehow made a goal in the last few seconds of the game. Neil, always having enough energy to bound over to Andrew at the end of the game, excitedly congratulates him on making Exy history. 

At his blank look Neil explains that Andrew scored a goal when he shot the ball back up court and subsequently gave the Foxes a winning score. 

“Are you okay?” Neil asks after a moment. “I know you don’t care about Exy but I’m surprised you didn’t notice that last goal.” Andrew sees the rest of the team starting to make their way over to the goal and knows he needs to leave before he is stuck in a well-meaning huddle.

He hears Neil’s startled laugh and comment that he’ll meet him back in the locker room as Andrew begins his walk off of the court. He ignores Wymack’s promise of whiskey and Nicky’s cheers from the bench as he walks past, solely focused on the blood soaking into his goalie armor. He hopes it hasn’t spread to his jersey yet, though he assumes someone would stop him if it had. 

He finally reaches the locker room and sits down heavily on the nearest bench, lifting up his jersey and tightening his gear to staunch the flow of blood as best he can while he waits for Neil. He scowls at the fact that he got injured at stick ball no less, and knows he won’t hear the end of it from Kevin. What feels like hours but is probably only minutes passes by, and Neil finally bursts into the locker room with a triumphant grin.

“I only had to do press duty for a couple minutes because Wymack thought I would say something to the reporters when they said it was a fluke,” he explains, taking off his helmet and setting it beside Andrew’s, which had already been discarded on the floor. “But now I get to stay here with you while the rest of the team talks with those vultures.” 

He flops down onto the bench with a smile and stares at Andrew with such open fondness that he has to look away. 

“Staring,” he comments, mostly because it’s tradition at this point, and ignores the way the look makes his chest feel lighter. Neil only grins again, and raises his arms. 

“Yes or no?” He asks softly. Andrew thinks he might regret it, decides he doesn’t care, and answers yes softly. Neil pulls him into a hug and Andrew finds that yes, he does regret it when his vision goes black around the edges.

He must have winced because Neil immediately draws back to look at Andrew with concern. Irritation flares up in Andrew and he grinds his teeth knowing what he’ll have to do next. Neil looks at him expectantly and he sighs.

“Do you remember how to do stitches?” He bites out and Neil stands up like he’s been burned. 

“What? Andrew, tell me you’re joking,” he exclaims in surprise. At Andrew’s nonplussed look he sighs heavily. “I have a first aid kit in the car do you want me to bring it back or should I go get Abby?” He rolls his eyes at Andrew’s expression and says “fine, no Abby. I’ll go get the kit.”

Andrew stands with him to start the walk over and stumbles. Panic claws at Andrew’s throat and he sees it reflected back in Neil’s wide eyes. Neil stutters out another quiet yes or no, and with Andrew’s assent he begins to take off his jersey and the heavy goalie gear. 

With the chest padding off, Andrew can finally get a good look at the damage. The knife definitely didn’t hit an artery, but he isn’t reassured by how dazed and shaky he feels and knows it means he’s lost a lot of blood. He glances back up at Neil and finds him staring blankly at the blood pooling around his discarded gear. Andrew ignores the flash of pain as he pulls on his now too-big jersey to hide the injury, and begins to prod at Neil.

“Neil,” he says, half expecting an answer and half knowing the striker is likely remembering the last time he saw bloodied gear in the room. He thinks of Baltimore and raises a shaky hand to the back of Neil’s neck in hopes of grounding him. “Neil, look at me. You’re not there, you’re twenty years old and that’s not your gear or your blood. Nathan is dead and he’s not coming back, but I need you to focus.” 

Neil’s eyes meet his and Andrew sighs with relief, ignoring the pounding in his head and the black creeping around the edges of his vision. 

“Go get Abby.” Neil shakily nods and promises he’ll be back soon before rushing out the door. 

In the back of his mind Andrew belatedly remembers that he should probably be putting pressure on his wound. He tentatively presses on his jersey and the black around his vision comes back in full force. He grits his teeth and presses down, hard. 

Andrew must have fallen at some point because when he blinks his eyes open he is on the ground with his head smarting. He glances down at his jersey, finds it soaked with blood, and wonders how long he had been out. 

Just then, the doors slam open and a breathless Neil races in, coming to a stop just before Andrew.

“I couldn’t find Abby but I got her! She’ll be here any second just hold on, okay?” At Andrew’s scowl he sits down heavily on the floor and begins to put pressure on the wound. Andrew meets his eyes and chokes out the word staring again. Neil’s eyes flash with anger but he can’t bring himself to care.

“It’s you or the blood and me not being able to help so you’re going to have to deal with it for a minute. God, Andrew, how did this even-“ he breaks off as the doors open again, this time bringing Abby and Nicky into the locker room. 

Abby gasps and Nicky rushes over to Neil and Andrew, hovering over them uncertainly. Andrew hears the sound of a phone key being pressed when Neil interrupts.

“What are you doing? You said you’d help him,” he accuses. Andrew drags his eyes over to Abby and sees that she has her phone out, index finger poised over the screen.

Abby looks at him sadly. “Honey, he’s lost a lot of blood I need to call an ambulance. This isn’t something I can help with, I’m sorry.”

Andrew looks at Neil in panic. “No hospitals.” Neil unconsciously pushes more weight onto his stomach in protest, pleading with Abby to help. With the increased pressure, the pain is back at full force and Andrew fights to stay awake, but the world fades to black with the word no still on his lips.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil’s POV

Neil rushes out of the locker room, the image of Andrew’s blood on the floor burned in his mind. He surges past Wymack and towards the bench where he had last seen Nicky and Abby. Panic creeps back into his mind when he sees them gone and he startles when he feels a hand on his shoulder. Neil shrugs out of the grip and finds Wymack standing next to him. He turns to face him and briefly wonders if this is what the team had felt like during Baltimore. He shakes the thoughts of his father out of his head and looks at Wymack, knowing he must look like a wreck.

Wymack takes a glance at his face and begins a once over, zeroing in on the blood on his hands. 

“Where are you hurt, Neil? Are you looking for Abby?” Neil nods and Wymack fishes his phone out of his pocket, and hits a number on speed dial. Neil zones out as he speaks quickly into the phone, opting to scan the area instead. He’s brought back to reality with a harsh shake to his shoulder, and his name spoken in a tone that sounds like Wymack has said it more than once. He looks up to see Abby and Nicky looking at him in concern, and realizes that they think that he is the one who was injured. 

“Andrew,” he gasps out urgently and hopes that they understand. Wymack nods sharply and says that he will try to stall the rest of the team. Neil feels a surge of gratitude for his coach and races back to the locker room, hoping Abby is close behind.

He makes it to the locker room and screeches to a halt, finding Andrew on the floor next to his bloodied gear. He rattles something off about finding Abby and sits down next to Andrew, whose eyes are half lidded and hazy. He starts putting pressure on Andrew’s stomach, trying to ignore the way he flinches at the touch, and almost misses it when Andrew says that he’s staring again. 

Overwhelmed with memories and overcome with anger, he grits out that he needs to look at his eyes or else he won’t be able to help. Andrew seems to understand what he needs and stares back unwaveringly. Neil starts to ask how Andrew managed to get stabbed at an Exy game, when he is interrupted by the arrival of Abby and Nicky. 

Nicky is standing uselessly next to him, peering at Andrew whose eyes have closed again. Neil hopes he hasn’t passed out, then wonders if he would prefer it. 

Abby starts to say that she can’t help him, and all Neil feels is betrayal. He knows in the back of his mind that he’s being ridiculous, and knows now exactly how Andrew must have felt back in Baltimore. Nicky is rapidly chattering in stress and Neil wonders just how bad it would be if he sent him out of the room when he goes silent. Neil looks back just in time for Andrew to open his eyes blearily and slide them over to where Abby is dialing her phone. 

Neil protests again at this and she explains that she can’t help him when he’s lost this much blood. Andrew mumbles his refusal of going to a hospital and helplessness overwhelmes Neil. All he can do is sit and put pressure on the wound as Andrew says no again and slips firmly into unconsciousness. 

Neil begins to plead with Abby, telling her that she can still help and stitch him up, that Andrew said no and now he’s not awake to say yes, and doesn’t she know how important that is to Andrew? Abby looks like she is about to cry when Wymack bursts in, flocked by the rest of the team. All business, he asks Abby if the paramedics are on the way while Neil begins another round of protests. 

Nicky snaps out of it and he and Wymack reassure him that this is not something that Andrew can decide, that they have to get him to a hospital if he ever wants to see him again. Out in the corner of his vision Neil can see Abby urgently talking on her phone when he slumps over, exhausted from the game and the anxiety-inducing moments afterwords. Neil peels off Andrew’s armbands with a quiet apology, hoping that Andrew will understand. Wymack gently moves Neil over and uses a towel to continue applying pressure, muttering gruff apologies and promises of whiskey and ice cream to the quiet room when Nicky begins to cry.

Neil looks over at him is surprise and suddenly remembers that he probably has a concussion. He stands up on autopilot and brings Nicky to the bench where they sit and wait for the paramedics to arrive. 

Nicky is still quietly sobbing when he turns to Neil. “He’ll forgive you, you know. It’s gonna suck and he’s going to be scared when he first wakes up there but he’ll forgive you.” His voice begins to shake when he says “but I don’t think he would have a chance to if we didn’t get him help.” Neil desperately hopes he’s right and says so softly.

Aaron shuffles over next and firmly says “he’ll be okay.” He looks like he wants to say more but the paramedics interrupt him with their arrival, hurriedly bringing a stretcher to the group. Wymack moves to give them access to Andrew and they begin trying to wake him up. When this doesn’t work they then ask for any family members and proceed to direct their questions to Aaron and Nicky about allergies and other health conditions. They load him up on the stretcher and move to bring him in the ambulance. One of them quickly rattles off a hospital name to Abby and then they’re gone, sirens blaring as they try to get through the flood of cars attempting to leave campus. 

Wymack and Abby quickly organize everyone in carpool groups and Neil zones out the entire ride there. The car comes to a stop and Aaron nudges him and Nicky to get out. They step into the waiting room to find Wymack and Kevin already there, and Wymack moves over to Neil while the others sit down. He asks Neil if he wants to go wash his hands and leads him to the bathroom. Neil follows him in a daze and gets all the way to the sink before he looks down and freezes. 

“Neil,” Wymack says urgently, and he again gets the feeling that he had said it more than once. “Let me help you.” Neil nods, closes his eyes, and lets Wymack put his hands under the water and scrub them clean. He taps the back of Neil’s hand once and tells him he can open his eyes. Neil’s stares at Wymack through the mirror and sees concern, though he doesn’t know if it’s for him or for Andrew or for the both of them. He shakes the thought from his head and grabs a couple paper towels to dry his hands. He gives Wymack what he hopes is a reassuring nod and they walk back to the waiting room in silence. 

Neil slumps in a chair between Kevin and Nicky and can’t help but feel like this is his fault. He voices this and is met with incredulous glances from the pair. He shrugs it off because they weren’t there, and they didn’t freeze when they could have helped for who knows how long, so he doesn’t bother explaining it and dozes off while they wait. 

He wakes with a soft shove to his shoulder and opens his eyes to see a tired looking doctor standing before the group. He tells them that Andrew will be alright and that one of them can go to see him if they wish. Neil looks at Nicky and Aaron, who in return stare right back at him, and he feels a surge of gratitude for his teammates. Wymack hands him Andrew’s armbands, which he must have remembered to grab from the bench when they left, and tells him to send updates if he can. Neil stands and follows the doctor through a maze of hallways until they reach Andrew’s room. The doctor tells him that a nurse will be in to check on Andrew in a while but he can press a button to call her if needed. 

Neil makes his way over to the chair next to Andrew’s bed and takes a closer look at him. Andrew is pale and asleep and has a bandage around his head, and Neil is thankful to see that the bandages around his stomach are covered by his hospital gown. Neil places his arm bands onto a small table next to the chair and winces at the squeaky noise the chair makes as he flops back into it. 

It was loud enough to wake Andrew, who flinches and throws a slow punch towards the sound before slowly blinking his eyes open. His eyes are hazy with drugs but Neil doesn’t see the persistent manic smile he used to wear. Andrew sees Neil and immediately opens his arms and says yes or no, and Neil is so relieved he could cry. But he doesn’t so Andrew moves over enough so Neil can fit on the bed with him and gives him a hug. It’s so unlike Andrew that Neil pulls back for a moment to look at him. 

“I ruined our other one,” Andrew mumbles in response to his searching look and Neil actually does cry now. Andrew looks startled in the way that only he can and hugs him tighter.

Neil tries to control his breathing so he can voice what he has been wanting to say for what feels like hours. 

“What happened? I was so scared and then I had a flashback or a panic attack, I don’t really know, and you helped me even though you were literally bleeding out and then I came back and you passed out and I didn’t know how to help and then you said no hospitals but we had to bring you here anyway and I’m sorry And-“ Andrew put a hand over his mouth like he did back at Exites and Neil stops to catch his breath. 

Andrew looks at him expectantly and once he realizes Neil is done he begins to speak.

“So you want to know what happened?” At Neil’s nod he continues. “That striker that I blocked in the last few minutes waited by me when the game had started up again. I guess he had already planned on getting carded and figured the refs wouldn’t notice since the ball was on the other side of the court. He told me that he knew I had knives on me and when I didn’t reply he told me that he did too and then he stabbed me and tackled me into the goal.” He stated this like he was recalling what they needed to get at the grocery store, and Neil once again felt a surge of anger at how little Andrew cared about his own safety. 

“When he was leaving the field I saw him say something to his replacement, probably along the lines of ‘shoot for the left side because he won’t be able to dive for the ball.’”

Neil, still angry from Andrew’s blatant disregard for himself, feels another vicious surge this time towards the striker. He starts to get out of the bed to find and possibly stab the Jackal himself when Andrew pokes him in the side of his face. 

“I want you to stay here,” he says simply, and all of Neil’s anger leaves him. His tiredness comes rushing back and he can see Andrew’s eyes drooping from fatigue. He sighs and is almost asleep when a thought persists in the back of his mind, keeping him from sleep. 

“Wait but you said that he stabbed you right before he pushed you?” Andrew drags his eyes open and nods, unsure of where the question is leading. 

“But that was before the last goal. You made a goal from the other side of the field making Exy history after you were just stabbed from some deranged striker?”

“That’s what you got from this?” Andrew rolls his eyes. “I didn’t want to go into overtime. Go to sleep junkie,” he sounded almost fond when he said it, and Neil couldn’t help but be comforted by it. Content that they were both safe in the hospital room with the team outside waiting for them, Neil and Andrew fell asleep in each other’s arms.


End file.
